[Netizen]

Ok, now I'm really getting confused. I did some looking around and it seems the Great American Songbook is primarily music from the 1920's to roughly the 1960's and heavily jazz. At least that is what the Great American Songbook website implies.

I'd rather they left the song selections open to all musicals as opposed to just those of ALW and they can keep their jazz. I just don't care for it, Ick!

[Wolfstar]

Ok, now I'm really getting confused.

Don't be confused. Think of it this way. If you are familiar with musicals such as the following (just a handful of examples), you are familiar with many of the most famous songs from The Great American Songbook:

West Side Story
Show Boat
Oklahoma
Carousel
South Pacific
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Meet Me In St. Louis
42nd Street
Hello Dolly
An American In Paris
Singing In The Rain

If you're familiar with any of the songs identifed with people like Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Doris Day, and others of that generation, you know songs from The Great American Songbook. These works are our cultural heritage as Americans. We should celebrate them.